Friday letters

Friday

May 17, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Junkets vs. hunger

Regarding the H-T report on Congress' "frequent fliers":

I was sickened at the thought that our elected officials, both in office and about to leave, had no difficulty spending more than $1.5 million of taxpayers' money in 2012 to cover travel expenses, and that may not even address cost of family members. Fourteen were from Florida.

I work at Senior Friendship Center in Sarasota and we are currently addressing budget cuts as part of the recent federal sequestration. These cuts have caused an immediate hold on all new clients for both congregate and home-delivered meal programs, demanded by the Department of Elder Affairs. This will involve clients in Sarasota, DeSoto, Lee and Charlotte counties. There will be 32,920 fewer meals available, we will be unable to take new clients and this may mean a reduction of existing clients. All of this despite the seriousness of senior hunger.

The meals provided by SFC provide a third of the recommended dietary intake for the older adult; often this is the only hot meal they will receive. I hope the next time one of our elected officials boards a plane with his family on the taxpayers' money, he realizes that the cost probably would have fed many of the aforementioned seniors. Please tell me, how do these politicians look in the mirror and live with themselves?

Penelope A. Evensen, R.N.

Sarasota

Downtown noise

In regard to the article about the downtown Sarasota condo resident complaining about the noise of the surrounding businesses, I find it hard to understand why someone would buy a condo in downtown Sarasota and then complain of the noise. Shouldn't they have considered this before they bought? Maybe her unit needs more insulation if she can hear the outside noise inside the unit.

On the lanai, there is no way you can eliminate all noise except to shut down businesses. A busy and thriving business district is what keeps the economy going. Kudos to city commissioners for trying to keep the levels down and still let them operate their business.

Jan Boardman

Sarasota

Border control first

There is a misconception by senators, representatives, lobbyists and the president why the proposed immigration bill lacks support by many, including me. We don't like our government passing unread and not-understood bills like Obamacare.

We want border control, we want E-Verify for jobs, we want to screen out criminals, check for disease and then regular monitoring of all who enter our country. An illegal person is just that -- illegal. If we go abroad, we live by their rules. Come here, live by our rules. The idea that everyone is entitled to come here is absurd.

We have about 12 million illegals living here now. A system to further assimilate them and later offer citizenship is acceptable, but only after the border is sealed. Registration of all needs to be done. Hire enough people; there are many unemployed today who need meaningful jobs like these, to control our borders and entrants. Immigration is not bad; immigration is good for all -- but not in unlimited numbers with no meaningful controls as in the bill being debated.

This should not be a partisan issue. This is for security, safety and keeping our country strong.

David G. Smith

Lakewood Ranch

Angry at legislators

Floridians should be up in arms, standing arm in arm, shouting down our elected officials who just returned from Tallahassee.

The special interest (aka big money) group did very well and you and I will pay the bill. More than $2 million in taxpayer funds given to IMG sports academy -- a billion-dollar operation with tuition starting around $60,000! Our elected shouldn't be proud that while the school bus is carrying public money to IMG it will drive over the kids being kicked out of Phoenix Academy (a public school for struggling students that Sarasota is closing to save money). These kids are going to be dumped in general education, where they will learn less, take away from others, and be forgotten by the elected.

Merle Tarr

Venice

Socialist danger

As a trifecta of incompetence and deception explodes over the Obama administration, the best the Herald-Tribune can do is relegate the news to the back pages. Is the H-T's journalistic curiosity blunted by the belief that President Obama and his cohorts are somehow immune from sins and vices that afflict the rest of us?

In my lifetime there has been a procession of egocentric socialists whose lust for power and impatience with constitutional change has led to unspeakable chaos and catastrophic loss of innocent life. All of them professed high-minded progressive change for their constituents. All of them failed because the concentration of power always corrupts and always leads to profound human suffering. Do your job and leave your personal prejudices at home before our beloved country succumbs to the same disease.

John H. Leeper

Englewood

Cartoon unfair to NRA

I found it very surprising that the Herald-Tribune found it acceptable to publish an ugly cartoon on Sunday, smearing the National Rifle Association, given that just last week the news media published a report that gun violence in the United States dropped by large numbers in the past 20 years.

Rather than publishing a cartoon demonizing the NRA, the H-T should have published a cartoon or editorial praising the NRA for defending our Second Amendment constitutional civil rights and defending our God-given right to defend our families and our country in national emergencies.

Dan Korolyshyn

Venice

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